Met officer stabbed during London dawn raid as 800 police swoop on organised crime gang

A police officer was stabbed in the leg during a dawn raid in north London this morning - as 17 arrests were made in a huge crackdown on an organised crime group.

The officer was injured while carrying out a warrant at an address in Cockfosters in Barnet.

Colleagues and paramedics treated him at the scene before he was rushed to hospital.

Police said the officer's injuries were non-life changing. In a statement, police revealed that 17 people were arrested in dawn raids at 24 properties in London and four other counties.

More than 800 officers took part in the operation in the capital, Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.

Police said the arrests follow months of "intense investigation" by specialist Met detectives working alongside His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

As part of the wider operation, the FCA has disrupted seven firms and is actively pursuing a further 30.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “These arrests mark a significant point in this investigation. Those arrested are suspected of leading or being involved at a senior level in serious and organised crime and related financial offending.

“We know the impact of serious and organised crime stretches well beyond those at senior levels of the organisations involved. Lines can often be drawn from the top, all the way to those involved in the criminality that blights communities, including serious violence and exploitation.

“Investigating these groups is among the most complex work the Met undertakes. It requires a significant investment of time and money and the expertise not just of specialist police officers but of colleagues from partner organisations like HMRC and the FCA.

“We hope these arrests show how determined we are to ensure organised crime groups cannot operate freely in London. We will work tirelessly to identify them, to gather evidence and to take action.”

A Financial Conduct Authority spokesperson said: “Tackling financial crime requires the type of partnership shown by today’s joint action and the many months of close cooperation leading to it.

“We’ll continue to work with the police and others to identify and disrupt organised crime groups who abuse our financial system to launder dirty money.”

An HMRC spokesperson said: "Today’s action highlights the importance of close collaboration between HMRC and other law enforcement partners in tackling serious and organised crime, including suspected money laundering and other criminal activity.

"The 17 arrested include 15 men and two women. Their ages range from 26 to 65.

Eleven of them are accused of money laundering. Other offences levelled against some of them include tax evasion and and false accounting.

A 56-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of GBH in relation to the stabbing of the police officer.